Every time the news starts posting information about mega gifts, boards and executive directors start pounding on the door of development directors. The directive is clear: “we want what they’re having.” Well, I’ll give you the bad news first. Mega gifts do not typically happen overnight. It is a culmination of months, if not years, […]

Here’s a great post from Marc Pitman, aka The Fundraising Coach.  Leave it to Marc to find a link between Katy Perry and fundraising!  This is a good one! Marc also has a great new post on his site, entitled The Role of the Executive Director in a Development Database, which you should also check […]

Just recently, I heard about a pretty nifty way for non-profits to get a great print advertising deal in the local paper. First of all- a disclaimer: I only know about this working in my local newspaper. I have never heard of it working in others, but I can’t think that my little rag in […]

I’d like to introduce a new face here at Step by Step, benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar (pictured at left).  Sherry’s stories and advice have been published in publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and heard on television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches […]

Kivi Leroux Miller, author ofThe Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause, advises small nonprofits who are creating quick-and-dirty marketing plans to start by defining their target audience. Here she shares three ways to do that. When nonprofit marketing and fundraising programs fail, organizations too frequently blame the tactics. […]